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A critical juncture in brand marketing has arrived. It is led by the internet and the technology changes this brings, along with consumers - who, as we all know, have changed forever. The brand now needs not only to represent its product but the people behind the product and why they do what they do for that product's success.

As the world gets hotter and we become more connected, and brand interaction is now a conversation and no longer a monologue, the trend we are seeing coming through loud and clear are those of "short-term" commitments.

Never before have people had such a love affair with a communications medium as they have with their mobile phones. Now, marketers aren't communicating with consumers via an impersonal one-way device; rather, they are communicating with them through a device people happily carry around 24/7. Here are my top 12 trends for the mobile world in 2012.

South Africa's young consumers are more savvy and demanding than ever before. Not surprisingly, marketers have to work harder and smarter to make their brands compelling to kids, teens and young adults. 2012 stands for pace, progress, challenge and increased 'prosumer' power. Here are 10 whats and hows, ending with some of the hottest youth brands to look out for this year.

In 2012, things will stay the same. Everyone still believes that marketing has not changed and that social is a channel. Yes they are starting to understand how important channel is but they have not and will not grasp just how much.

Despite what the doomsday predictions say, email will not become irrelevant due to the rise of social media. As one of the most cost-effective and efficient eMarketing service offerings, email marketing is expected to continue to be a crucial part of the digital marketing mix in 2012.

Looking forward, we can expect a ratcheting up of existing trends throughout 2012. Whether you're a politician, an executive or a consumer, the odds are strong you're going to need to hang firmly onto your hat.

I think 2012 will be a fascinating year for market research in South Africa, as more specialist tools and techniques are increasingly absorbed into mainstream methodologies. New technology will be a key driver, but this will be carefully balanced by efforts to really understand consumer behaviour by directly engaging respondents.

The past year will go down in history as a time of unexpected political regime change, social unrest and civil protest, from the bloody end to Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule in Libya to the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York that spread very quickly around the world. Such conditions make for interesting and exciting times, because they bring change. Lots of change.

2012 will bring fundamental tectonic shifts to the balance of power in technology choices. Many of these will be driven by the people and for the people - in 2012 the trend, literally, is your friend. Smart enterprise will embrace this change but big business will very quickly have to learn to shut up and listen to what the consumer wants.

The world is sitting in a now familiar state of uncertainty, with debit crisis, stagnant established markets and emerging growth markets and continued pressure to deliver increasing returns. In the face of this uncertainty and continuing increase in fragmentation and complexity, marketers will need to strategically develop more flexibly responses to deal with a range of conundrums.

From a marketer's perspective, we miss the mark from the moment we fail to understand the uniqueness of the South African youth market. The cheese keeps moving while we are wielding text books and strategies from 1996, 2010 or even September 2011, which may be off the mark and off the streets by June 2012.

Smart printing, that fulfils a particular need or niche, will survive the digital shift into 2012 and beyond. I like to think that print will never disappear. With many people spending their entire working day in front of a screen or glued to their smartphone, easing the commute with a newspaper on the Gautrain or relaxing in the bath with a book after a long day are some of life's great luxuries.

There are no trends in the communications industry this year. There are realities. Fundamental, yet often simple, factors which then influence how communicators can bring value to the organisations they work within.

2012 is the year of the apocalypse (thanks, Mayans). But if you think about it, in a way they are right. Every year it ceases to be the end of the world as we know it. The world is in a constant state of revolution and innovation.

We are in the middle of an exciting period in the marketing research industry, with a number of major shifts taking place that affect how research is done. The web in particular has led to multiple developments which threaten to topple the cherished technologies and techniques that have dominated the last two decades.

Ever since I read Faith Popcorn's Clicking in 1998 (and I can't believe you haven't read it - really?) I've been hooked on trends and how important it is not only to pay attention to what's affecting people right now but what could happen around the corner. Because you need to be around that corner, armed with what you need to reach your market.

Whether this year actually brings the end of the world as we know it or not, 2012 is an interesting year from an astrological point of view. So what does this mean for our world, as we know it? Let's take a peek in the crystal ball.

Currently, out of home (OOH) is an exciting sphere to be in. People are spending more and more time out of their homes, and there are an increasingly growing number of OOH options available to the advertiser. We foresee the following trends happening in 2012.

In the last couple of years alone, the world of speaking and presenting has morphed and grown considerably. And it's not just changing by the decade. It's changing by the year. There will be changes this year too, both through advances in technology and due to trends in what is and what is not fashionable.

When putting these trends together, I focused on socio-cultural changes that will transform our interaction with digital technologies, using the concepts of nature and culture to explain the role that we, and technology itself, play in closing the gap between these concepts. Here are 12 trends that describe how our relationship with the environment, politics and one another will shape the future use of digital devices and technologies.

In talking to a fellow writer recently, we got onto the topic of client trends that came out of 2011. One of the most noticeable for us was that clients are on the lookout for something different from their agency/writer/creative, as they need to stand out from the clutter and general advertising methods aren't cutting it anymore.

It is never easy to predict the future, but the last two years have given us a great indication of things to come in the brand engagement and internal communication space. There has been a drastic shift among corporate South Africa towards recognising the strategic business role and benefits that engaged employees can deliver.

Marketing and communication via mobile media and the web are always evolving. New players in the space appear and disappear, almost on a monthly basis. As we all progress with the new and exciting opportunities that they open up, we can only explore further, fail, move on and start again.

Despite a dire economic outlook for the world economy, I'm looking forward to 2012; it's going to be an exciting and positive year. Countries and companies alike might panic and turn their backs on sustainability, asking with a tremble in their voices: Is the well-being of people and planet really a luxury we can afford in these tough times? But, there are reasons to be optimistic. Here are 12 trends that will change your business for the better